Comparison of Photorhabdus luminescens and Vibrio fischeri lux fusions to study gene expression patterns

A comparison of promoter fusions with the luxCDABE genes from Vibrio fischeri and Photorhabdus luminescens was made using promoters from several genes (katG, sodA, and pqi-5) of E. coli that are responsive to oxidative damage. The respective characteristics, such as the basal and maximum bioluminescence and the relative bioluminescence, were compared. E. coli strains carrying fusions of the promoters to P. luminescens lux showed higher basal and maximally induced bioluminescent levels than strains carrying the same promoter fused to the luxCDABE genes from V. fischeri. The sensitivities between the strains were similar, regardless of the luciferase used, but lower response ratios were seen from strains harboring the P. luminescens lux fusions. Furthermore, using the two katG::lux fusion strains, the bioluminescence from the P. luminescens lux fusion strain, DK1, was stable after reaching a maximum, while that of strain DPD2511 decreased very rapidly due to substrate limitation.